Results of 51��’s Positively Advancing the Workplace Survey (PAWS) shared during special University Update

Baker University Center is surrounded by colorful trees on a Fall day

Ben Wirtz Siegel

51�� held a special update today for the University community to learn about the results of its workplace culture survey fielded in February in partnership with ModernThink LLC, a management consulting firm that owns and operates the Great Colleges to Work For program.

The survey, which was a key action outlined in the WORK Pillar of 51��’s Dynamic Strategy set out to establish a baseline for measuring improvement and identify areas of opportunity.

Dr. Fredricka Joyner, senior consultant at ModernThink, provided a third party analysis of OHIO’s survey results, highlighting areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. Joyner showed how OHIO’s results across the 10 dimensions measured in the survey compared to other national R1 institutions as well as how we stacked up against ModernThink’s “Honor Roll” of top performing universities.

Details on how 51�� performed across all 10 dimensions are available at ohio.edu/paws-survey.

Across all dimensions, OHIO’s five highest scores highlighted five core strengths on which the institution hopes to build moving forward:

Welcoming – “In my department, we welcome people of all backgrounds.”
Mission-focused – “I understand how my job contributes to the OHIO mission.”
Meaningful Work – “The work I do is meaningful to me.”
Empowered Employees – “I am given the responsibility and freedom to do my job.”
Work-Life Balance – “My supervisor supports my efforts to balance my work and personal life.”

Each of these statements received a positive response higher than 80%, which is defined as excellent by ModernThink’s survey standards.

After reviewing areas where OHIO has a less positive response and comparing those with our Carnegie research classification peers, the University identified three areas of opportunity to focus on improving as we move forward:

Promotion and Recognition Opportunities – OHIO underperformed its peers in the dimension of “Performance Management,” which included questions about review processes, opportunities for promotion and career advancement, and recognition programs.
Collaboration and Teamwork – In the “Collaboration” dimension, OHIO employees indicated that people in their immediate department worked well together, but the University underperformed in questions about teamwork across the institution.
Trust in Leadership – ModernThink’s Carnegie Peer data indicates that “Confidence in Senior Leadership” shows up as a weakness across our peer set. However, 51�� scores slightly below the Carnegie average in this dimension.

“We’re proud of the strong foundation our employees have helped build, and we’re equally focused on the work ahead to strengthen trust, collaboration and opportunity,” said Mary Elizabeth Miles, vice president of Human Resources at OHIO.

Tags: